Pablo Sarabia can impact games like few others at Wolves. Is he the spark O'Neil needs?

It is less than a year since Pablo Sarabia enjoyed his finest moment in Wolverhampton Wanderers colours and yet the Spain international finds himself on the outside looking in on the club’s early-season struggles.

Sarabia has played just 30 minutes in the Premier League over the first seven games, which is not surprising as head coach Gary O’Neil has previously admitted reservations about the 32-year-old’s ability to thrive in the division given his lack of height and power. Only ongoing injury issues for other forwards gave him a chance last season.

Despite a summer transfer window that did not go as planned, Wolves did manage to increase their options in forward areas with the addition of players more to O’Neil’s specifications, such as Carlos Forbs, with his pace and directness, and Rodrigo Gomes, with his energy.

Meanwhile, after an injury-hit first season at Molineux, Jean-Ricner Bellegarde was always likely to get a chance to utilise his ball-carrying capacity and that opportunity has come in the wide areas that Sarabia has tended to occupy.

But with Wolves entering a crucial phase of their season and O’Neil facing increasing scrutiny over his position, it might be the time to turn to one of his seasoned performers.

Sarabia’s contributions are subtle and often understated and at times his diminutive stature makes him appear lightweight compared to some of the league’s athletes.

But last season he still managed to be one of his side’s most important attacking influences.

Among players who played 900 or more minutes in the league — the equivalent of 10 full matches — Sarabia was 11th for chances created per 90 minutes, according to Opta.

His 2.63 chances created per 90 made him Wolves’ most regular creator ahead of Pedro Neto, whose figure of 2.25 put him 25th in the overall standings.

(Minimum minutes: 900)

Sarabia’s 0.25 expected assists per 90 minutes — the number of assists he would have been expected to register from the chances he created, taking the quality of finishing out of the equation — was also the highest figure for a Wolves player.

And his 1.18 chances per 90 from set pieces put him sixth in the Premier League standings for players with 900 minutes or more, with only Fulham’s Andreas Pereira, Liverpool’s Andy Robertson, Luton Town’s Alfie Doughty, West Ham United’s James Ward-Prowse and Brighton’s Pascal Gross ahead of him.

And away from statistics, Sarabia’s CV compares favourably with any player in O’Neil’s squad.

With an upbringing in Real Madrid’s academy and spells near the top of La Liga, Ligue 1 and the Portuguese Primeira Liga with Sevilla, Paris Saint-Germain and Sporting Lisbon to his name, plus a World Cup squad place and multiple caps for Spain, he should not be fazed by the tension that Wolves will face over the next few weeks.

“There is some competition in that area of the pitch, but I don’t see him on the outside looking in,” said O’Neil in a press conference earlier this season.

“Some people play more than others, but they’re all equally important to me. Pablo has enough quality that if he’s performing well and if he’s bringing the same quality that he brought in spells last season for us, he can still impact Premier League games.

“We’ll definitely still need him to help us progress again this season.”

Sarabia had a similarly frustrating start to last season but became a key figure once Neto suffered the first of his two hamstring injuries and enjoyed his most memorable moment in early November with a stunning goal and a sublime assist in the thrilling 2-1 win at home against Tottenham.

While he might not fit O’Neil’s preferred profile for a wide forward, it is hard to ignore the impact he made on the last campaign. As his creation zones map from last season (below) shows, the majority of his created chances came from the right.

He did himself no favours with a subdued, sloppy display in the Carabao Cup defeat at Brighton last month, weakening his case for selection. But right now, O’Neil might consider pedigree more valuable than short-term form.

Sunday’s home game with Manchester City might not be the ideal moment to restore Sarabia to the starting XI with the task more suited to physical, defensive-minded options, so the Spaniard is likely to be required from the bench at best this weekend.

But with some crucial, potentially winnable games to come in the next few weeks, it would be odd to overlook the claims of a man who can affect games like Sarabia.

He is one of the club’s highest earners and, with his contract due to expire at the end of the season, is unlikely to have a long-term future at Molineux.

But for now, his potential impact is too great for him to be a permanent spectator.

(Top photo: David Rogers/Getty Images)